#thecraftory

I’ve been posting a weekly photo blog about the doings around The Craftory since we opened in October. When there are moments and images that catch my eye, I try to capture them to share with you. Some of the pictures are posted on Instagram and then pushed out to our Facebook page and onto our Twitter account. It’s a fairly simple way to let people see what’s happening. The feed you see are the things I find interesting.

Like fireboxes…

…and here is why.

I enjoy setting fires. For as long as I can remember making fire has been fun for me. When I was 9, I found a pack of matches and was setting leaves on fire behind the neighbors fence. Then I’d stomp them out, or so I thought they were out.

Mom had made a fantastic roast beef that evening and called Greg and I in from the street for dinner. It was a cul de sac street, 1973, and we played outside all day. The kitchen table was set, and our single TV was off. Our loyal golden dog Brandy (she could have doubled for Old Yeller) was laying in the doorway watching dad about to carve a perfectly seared hunk of beef. At that moment, sirens from a fire truck could be heard out in the street. It was a loud and sudden commotion right outside the front door so we all bolted out to see what was happening.

The neighbors fence had a brand new half moon shaped black char on it about 12 feet in width. The fence was still smoldering after being dosed with water from the fire truck. I thought the black char added to the overall appearance of fence to be honest. The neighbors didn’t see it that way.

To this day I am still not sure how I got busted. I don’t recall being interrogated or confessing that it was me who failed to properly stomp out a small pile of burning leaves. I saw my mistake as improperly putting out a fire as opposed the playing with matches.

What does stick out in my mind so vividly as if it happened this morning is my dad’s reaction when we walked back into the house to eat roast beef only to discover that our dog Brandy had already helped herself the whole thing. That roast beef went up in the flames from across the street. Boy that was bad timing.

I took this moment to remind dad that he had given me Brandy for my 8th birthday, and that there wouldn’t be matches around the house if he didn’t smoke cigarettes. I had just taken getting into trouble to a whole new level, and still take personal responsibility for the genesis of the word Hangry.

Dad was so pissed that he couldn’t think straight. In this moment he decided my punishment would be striking matches and tossing them into the fire place until I got playing with fire out of my system. He found the biggest box of matches ever made. Dad didn’t consider that he could have unloaded a 20 foot container of matches for me to go through and I would have knocked those out before the next roast beef was done. Never make punishing decisions in the heat of battle would be the advice my dad would give you today.

Whenever I see a good looking fire I think of that day and my dad. Dad was the best.

Some of the other things that caught my eye this week were…

This is Finn. Well behaved dogs on their leash like Finn are always welcome to enjoy the outside areas at The Craftory.

Finn brought his masters in to woof down some barbecue. Perhaps he was hoping to score a beef rib bone.

I noticed there are many ways to get to The Craftory.

People can use all sorts of ways to move about Old Town Tomball looking for the things that catch their eyes.

A group came to admire their antiquing bounty over a good beer.

Speaking of beer, we continue to work on our Micheleda game.

Smoke Roasted Maters and GAWLIC

House made Micheleda with Brisket Rub

Brisket rub for the rim

I began to notice some of the pictures our great customers like to post.

Chris Clements took this picture of his master piece.

Photo by Chris Clements

If that isn’t barbecue sandwich art I don’t know what is.

So it occurred too me that you guys take great pictures of our food. We’d like to encourage you to do more of this and there could be a little reward for your effort.

A Craftory photo contest is born.

Here’s the deal: Snap a pick and post it on our Facebook page or your Instagram or Twitter page, use #thecraftory in the description to help me find them, and I’ll pick my favorite for the week to post here. If we don’t see it, we can’t consider the picture, so remember to use #thecraftory.

You’ll get a $10.00 gift card for making our weekly blog. Once a quarter we will list the weekly winners, and our fans can vote to pick the favorite for that time period. The quarterly winner will get their name permanently placed on one of our dining room chairs along with a $25.00 gift card. We will see how it goes and adjust on the fly if we need too.

Take a great picture, be a regular customer, and you have a shot at this. If your picture doesn’t get selected, don’t get your feelings hurt. Instead, buy more barbecue and take better pictures. 🙂 Your own clever and fun commentary about your picture will help improve your odds. To be clear, the weekly contest is not objective at all. It is completely subjective. I make the final call on the weekly picture based on an undetermined and evolving set of criteria.

The contest just started so Chris gets a gift card for $10 this week. Nice going Chris. We appreciate your business.

It all sounds like fun is what we were thinking. Hope to see you and your pictures soon.